Newsletter #158

October 18, 2001

Greetings Accumulators!

Okay, stop looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to see if there are
any brown scaly sores on you. If you don't work for Tom Brokaw, Charlie
Gibson, or the USPS, you're probably safe. Part of me thinks they'll
discover some day that anthrax occurs naturally in the air and the reason
we are finding it in some places now is because we're actually testing for
it - something we've never done before. And the rest of me thinks this is a
pretty lame war of psychology launched by a bunch of so-called terrorists
who are finding it a bit harder to frighten Americans than it is to terrify
all those poor women in their own countries. I want to say, "Go buy another
veil for your long-suffering wife and stop annoying us, you cowardly little
worms!"

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF WHATTA HOG!
Amongst the celebrity efforts and donations aimed at helping the WTC relief
effort, are a couple of standouts. Jay Leno recently auctioned off a
limited edition motorcycle autographed by, among others, Nicole Kidman,
Arnold Schwartzenneger, Ellen Degeneres and John Travolta. The buyer, who
paid $360,200 for the bike is, according to Leno's publicist, just "some
guy who has a lot of money who thought it would be a cool thing to do".
Since it came with an appearance on "The Tonight Show", I guess that's
true. And, Spike Lee is auctioning off a courtside seat ticket to see
Michael Jordan's return to professional basketball against the New York
Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The winner gets to sit with Spike, since
it's his wife's ticket you'll be using. The price for the ticket is now at
$72,300 and there are only three days left to bid, so go empty that piggy
bank and get over to Yahoo auctions.

TACKY MEETS TRENDY DEPARTMENT
In recent years, it's been all the rage for museums to establish branches
far from the nest. Well now, New York's Guggenheim Museum has gone and done
it. They've opened not one, but two branches in the World Capital of Tack,
Las Vegas. Let's face it, if you look up "tawdry" in the dictionary,
there's a picture of Las Vegas there. The two new Guggenheims are both
housed in the Venetian Hotel (how conveeen-ient!), and they are of two
decidedly different bents. So you can see both motorbikes and Miros. For
more info, go toGuggenheim

OH GREAT - HERE'S SOMETHING THE WORLD REALLY NEEDS.
You'll all be pleased to know that Playboy has just announced a new line of
"fashion dolls". The dolls are "anatomically correct" replicas of Playboy
Playmates. Which is pretty funny when you think about the fact that most
Playboy Playmates are not anatomically correct. Unless you count silicon,
air-brushing, and computer alteration as anatomy. The dolls are 16 inches
tall and have a "life-like outer skin, with no visible joints" (always a
plus, or am I thinking of "double-jointed"?). This, according to the
manufacturer, - I'm not making this up - Evil Genius Toys. Each doll comes
in a window box with accessories such as lingerie and jewelry (no doubt so
you can undress them at home), and the plan is to release four each year. I
can hardly wait.

So, Accumulators, we come to the end of another little tete-a-tete, you and
I. Get out there and have some fun. Turn off the TV and go spend some time
with people. Artie and I are going our separate ways - for the afternoon,
anyway. He Who Is The Light Of My Life is attending some computer geek
techie event with his friend, Marty, and I am going to watch my adorable,
perky, blonder-than-Blondie niece do the cheerleader thing at her high
school football game. Wishing you a week of peace and calm and great
collectible finds. Oh, I'm teaching a course on the state of the
collectibles market at CW Post College on Long Island on the next two
Tuesday evenings. Call the Office Of Continuing Education if you want to
attend. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!